


Dreaming of Bumping into You

by pseudonoir



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Friendship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-12
Updated: 2015-07-12
Packaged: 2018-04-09 00:13:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4326387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pseudonoir/pseuds/pseudonoir
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Semi and Suga get acquainted, despite the unfavorable circumstances.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dreaming of Bumping into You

**Author's Note:**

> As I'm writing this, the manga's at chapter 165. This fic takes place at what I imagine to be the end of the Shiratorizawa vs. Karasuno match.

It was over.

The whistle blew shrill and sharp, signalling the end of the match. Karasuno had won the final set, and were moving on to the Nationals. They whooped and cheered as Shiratorizawa looked on in numb shock. The till-then undefeated champions were still struck with a silent disbelief as they panted from exhaustion that they hadn't even noticed.

Semi knew better than to let his emotions get the better of him. For the third years like himself, there were no more chances; this was the end. But he wasn't about to let that reality sink in just yet. Keeping his cool, he lined up at the net with the rest of his team to shake their opponent's hands. The boys on the other side of the net were positively glowing.

One boy, in particular: Karasuno's no. 2. He was a formidable opponent, and Semi could tell from the get-go that he was a 3rd year setter-cum-pinch server like himself, whose starter position had been taken by a prodigious junior. His steady seriousness on the court (and resounding off-court cheering) left quite an impression despite his short amount of time in play.

His hands were firm over Semi's, and the euphoria from their victory was radiating from his face, though his expression was far from complacent. His grin was honest, and sweet, and for a brief moment, the bitterness in Semi's chest seem to dissipate. He felt strangely embarrassed, and quickly averted his gaze.

Coach Washijou gave them a quick debrief. Semi caught the gist of it - they have to keep moving forward, become stronger for next year, even without their current ace - but he was distracted. His gaze would drift back to his counterpart on the other side of the court. Even though the team was dejected, and still a bit scandalized at the outcome of the match, Semi's behaviour did not escape Tendou's notice.

"Eita." He caught up with him after the coach was done.

"Yeah, Satori?"

"You keep staring at him." Semi, who was expecting Tendou to be too reeling-in-shock-senseless to make such acute observations, was taken aback.

"What?"

"That guy. Karasuno's no. 2. And from the looks of it, you either want to fight him, or fuck him." Tendou wagged his eyebrows while Semi gaped back.

"Y-you've got it all wrong, Satori."

"My guesses are hardly ever wrong; especially not with you, Eita," Tendou grinned crookedly. "Ask him out."

"What?" Semi stammered. "Satori, are you even listening to yourself? I don't know if you're picking on me to distract yourself, but stop."

"I'm not the one who's distracted, Eita."

Okay, that might have been a half lie, and Tendou might have a penchant for pushing his pain away, ignoring its very existence, and directing his full attention to running that mouth of his off about everything under the Sun. Semi recalls the day Tendou scraped his knee which began to bleed profusely; red, raw, and angry. It looked like it hurt and hurt real fucking bad and Tendou just would not shut up throughout the whole ordeal. He joked and laughed while no one listened because all anyone could do for the first few seconds was look at him in alarm before Semi snapped out of it and sprinted toward the first aid kit.

He wonders how much of Tendou's teasing today is based on truth, and how much of it is him trying to distract himself from the fresh wounds of their defeat.

"I'm not joking, though." Tendou looks toward Sugawara. "He looks gentle, but he plays real steady. He smiles all genuine-like, and his hair looks all fluffy – he's totally your type, Eita."

"Since when did I have a type?" Now he was getting annoyed. "I mean, I know what you mean. He's not...bad…looking...but I don't even know his name."

"I heard them call him Sugawara," Tendou leaned in closer. "He's cute, you're cute, just go for it."

He punched him lightly in the arm.

"Come on, we have to leave soon."

“Okay, but don’t come crying to me when you’re pining and whining and wondering why you didn’t ask that handsome stranger out when you had the chance.”

He would’ve rolled his eyes if we wasn’t so drained.

“Don’t worry, I won’t.”

 

* * *

 

"Oh!"

Suga exclaimed in surprise when he was knocked from behind. He caught himself against the bathroom sink. Turning around, he saw a Shiratorizawa player with his hands up.

"Sorry!" Tendou apologized quickly.

“Ah, it’s fine…” Suga tilted his head as he tried to recall his name. “…Tendou, right?”

“Yeah, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m alright.”

He nodded, moved to the sink, and washed his hands.

"You're a 3rd year setter, aren't you?" He asked casually. Suga blinked back at him.

"Yes, I am. Kageyama is our starter setter," Suga turned to the mirror. "But I help where I can. I pinch serve too."

"I see. That's a lot like Eita." Tendou mused.

"Eita?"

"Number 3. He's our 3rd year setter."

"Oh, him! You can tell he's a really skilled player." Tendou laughed.

"He'd be glad to hear that." He sauntered to the door. "Well, gotta go. Good luck at Nationals - it'll be a tough fight."

"Thanks. We'll do our best."

 

* * *

 

The team remained energetic on the bus ride home, and even after cleaning up and closing the gym, they couldn't shake the anticipation of representing Miyagi at the Nationals. The clubroom was bursting with noise, and the more energetic members (i.e. Noya, Tanaka, and Hinata) were practically bouncing off the walls.

"Coach went off to the store. He said we could meet him there and get pork buns." Daichi flashed a smile at Suga and Asahi.

"Are you coming?" Asahi asked. "You should go look for Yui instead!"

"What's with that?” Daichi sputtered. Suga and Asahi exchanged a look.

"Yeah, I'm sure-" Suga paused mid-sentence as his hand felt something in his pocket. "What...what's this?"

He pulled out a scrap of folded paper.

"What is it?" Asahi asked. There was a phone number messily scrawled onto it, along with the note "Call me -Semi".

Asahi and Daichi’s eyes widened when they saw it.

"What, Suga!! Were you flirting with some girl while we weren't looking?" Daichi exclaimed in genuine surprise.

“What? No! I didn't flirt with anyone! I don't know how this got here!"

"You mean it just randomly materialized in your pocket?"

“Like I’d know!” Now he was getting flustered. Ennoshita, who had managed to come up to the trio unnoticed, took a closer look at the note.

"Isn't Semi their setter?" Ennoshita offered. "No. 3."

"Oh!" Suga recalled hearing about said setter just an hour ago. The encounter in the bathroom leapt back into his mind. "You know, that Shiratorizawa guy, Tendou? He bumped into me in the bathroom. He must have dropped it in my pocket."

"On purpose?" Asahi raised an eyebrow.

"He must be your admirer or something." Daichi teased.

"Oh my God...you guys." Suga rubbed a hand over his face.

“Honestly, though, what’s his friend's number doing in your pocket?”

"I don’t know…let's get out of here first. We need to lock up."

"Stop trying to change the subject, Suga." He punched Daichi lightly in the ribs.

“Ack! Suga!”

"Pork buns first.” Suga raised his voice and turned to where the first years were congregated. “I can hear Hinata's stomach growling from all the way over here."

Hinata jumped and flushed bright red. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi snickered as the third years laughed gently.

 

* * *

 

The large group of them weren't allowed to congregate in the shop, so they passed out the pork buns outside.

“Sorry I can’t treat you guys to a whole meal just yet.” Ukai looked at all of them. “As I’ve said, you had a long five-set match, please hurry home and rest.”

Most of them heeded his advice, and eventually, only the third years, Nishinoya and Tanaka remained.

"We better head home, guys."

"Come on Suga," Tanaka protested through a mouthful of food. "It's a Saturday."

"And we haven't resolved your admirer problem." Daichi reminded him.

Suga’s expression quickly changed to one of exasperation, and he looked just about ready to (physically) give Daichi a piece of his mind. Daichi held his hands out in nervous surrender as he quickly realized his mistake.

"Woah, Suga has an admirer?" Tanaka looked up at him in awe.

"Someone gave him their number." Asahi explained.

"Asahi!"

"What?"

"There's no need to drag more people into this and give them the wrong idea."

"Is she cute?" Nishinoya inquired. Loudly.

"He is from Shiratorizawa." Daichi answered. "Semi, you know, the setter and pinch server that was mostly off the court?" Noya and Tanaka shrieked.

"What? He gave you his number? Is that a challenge?” Noya quickly got up.

“Is he picking a fight with you!?" Tanaka’s nostrils flared.

"No! I have no idea what he wants. I don't know why his team mate gave me his number, or if he even meant to. Calm down, you guys!"

"Well, let's find out." Noya decided as he huffed and crossed his arms. "Call him."

"What?"

"Call him, Suga." Tanaka echoed. "Let's get to the bottom of it."

"I think it's a good idea to text him, at least?" Asahi offered sheepishly.

"Right now?"

"Right now." Daichi patted space beside him, gesturing for Suga to sit back down with the rest of them.

Suga groaned.

 

* * *

 

Shiratorizawa was a pretty serious, no-nonsense team, but Semi cannot recall a moment in time where their collective mood was heavier than this. He was relieved when they were done packing up, and finally dismissed.

He and Tendou found Goshiki in tears. He couldn't hide it from the pair, who stayed to comfort him. He seemed to feel responsible for their loss.

"Shiratorizawa has been the strongest in Miyagi all these years, but suddenly, when I join the team, when I’m put in a starter position, we lose."

"Tsutomu, we lost as a team - all of us bear this together. It isn't you." Semi assured him as Tendou threw an arm around his junior, giving him a firm squeeze.

"No, I was entrusted with a starter position, but I failed. Now you guys...all the third years, even Ushijima-senpai, now you guys can't play in anymore-"

The two decided to walk their junior home, ignoring his protests. He soon quietened down, though, and after getting him back safe, the two started toward their own homes.

"That kid puts way too much pressure on himself." Tendou muttered.

 _So do you._ Semi wanted to tell him. Instead, he sighed.

"I wish he'd understand that he didn't let us down at all. We're a team."

Semi fished out his phone when it started to buzz.

"...what...the hell?"

Tendou glanced at the screen, which displayed a message from an unsaved number.

**< Hi Semi, it's Suga, from Karasuno. You wanted me to call you?>**

He looked at Tendou in disbelief.

"How...what...?" The corner of Tendou's mouth quirked up.

"Hooking up with the enemy right after they defeat us? Not cool, Eita." His jaw dropped when the realization hit him.

"You gave him my number?"

"Me?" Tendou blinked at him innocently. "Why would I do that?"

"Satori!” He exclaimed with surprising volume. It made Tendou wince.

“You can't just give out my number! What the hell were you thinking?"

"I was thinking –" Semi grabbed his arm.

"What did you say to him? Oh my God, Satori. What did you do?"

"Hey, it's fine okay? I just slipped your number and your name into his pocket, that's all. He could've ignored it if he wanted, but he actually texted you!"

"That's not the point," His voice began to waver. Having to send a crying Tsutomu home on top of losing their school’s status as the unquestioned champions of Miyagi made this one of the most emotionally strenuous days of his life. His patience was aching for a spill, and the mere thought of one of his closest, most trusted friends going about behind his back for a laugh really pushed him to his limit.

"I thought you were just taking the shit out of me to take your mind off our loss, but honestly? You didn't even listen to me.” Tendou shrank back. He didn’t want this at all. “Do you think this is funny? You think my feelings are a joke?" He looked absolutely betrayed, and Tendou felt sick.

"Look, Eita, I’m sorry. I really wasn't trying to hurt you.” He sounded broken. Semi wouldn’t look him in the eye. "You looked genuinely interested into him, but I knew we were all bitter from the loss, and you'd be too down make a move. I just thought you'd regret that later, so I went ahead and did it for you. I'm sorry, Eita. You know I’d never want to hurt you, right?”

"Sometimes,” His voice was soft, but it felt all too sharp. “Sometimes, I'm not so sure."

“Come on, Eita, please.” He begged. He took a deep breath. “You should’ve seen the way looked at him, Eita, it was the same expression you had all those other times. Every time you develop feelings for someone, you have this look in your eyes. ”

He seemed to be listening, so he carried on.

“I saw something there, okay? I thought I was helping you, but I guess I screwed up this time, huh?”

He blinked at him, expression softened.

“Please, you have to know that I would never try to hurt you.”

"Yeah...” He admitted. “Yeah, Satori, I know you would never hurt me. I'm sorry too, I suppose I overreacted.”

Tendou’s shoulders slumped in relief. Semi ran a hand through his hair.

“We're all pretty rash and emotional after what happened, but what am I supposed to do now?" He held up his phone.

"There’s no harm in texting him back. This isn’t his fault, and he'll be wondering why you're taking so long to reply."

"I don't know what to say to him."

"Did I read you right, though? Do you like him, Eita?" He stiffened at the question.

"I don't know...I really don't. He just," Eita furrowed his brow, thinking. "He just had this aura, you know? It was comforting, and pleasant. It felt like he was nice to be around. It felt like I wanted to be around him more. That's all." Tendou smiled.

_Yeah, I was right._

His phone buzzed again.

**< Sorry, do I have the wrong number?  >**

"Quick, send him a reply!" Semi began typing.

**< No, it's me, Semi. Sorry, my friend gave you my number without telling me.  >**

"Hey, don't tell him that!" Semi turned away from him.

**< Why would he do that? Should I delete your number then?  >**

"See!? You shouldn’t have told him it was me. Now he thinks you're not into him!"

"Okay, okay. Calm down." Another message came in.

 **< WAT GAME R U PLAYING, U SHITORIZAWA PUNK? THIS A PRANK? IF U WANT 2 FIGHT ME, U HAV TO GO THROUGH THE WHOLE MURDER OF CROWS. KARASUNOOOOOOO AKKSNSEWKDNWE  >**

Tendou and Semi looked at each other in confusion. Another text soon followed.

**< Not me!! That was my teammate.  >**

Semi began composing a reply.

**< Hi Suga, you don't have to delete my no. Tendou thought we'd make good friends or something, so he was trying to get us to start talking.  >**

**< O, that’s interesting! Why’s he trying match make us?  >**

The question caught Semi off-guard, but before he could think of an answer, another message came in.

**< If u r trying to hurt me for vengeance cos u guys lost, u hav ANOTHER THING COMING. KARAS >**

He looked at Tendou again, who could only offer his friend a shrug.

“He must have an overly protective boyfriend or something.” Semi elbowed him.

“Ow! I’m serious though! Or maybe the whole of Karasuno is his personal army overly protective boyfriends?”

He got elbowed again as another text came in – it looked to be from Suga, this time.

**< Sorry Semi! Gotta run. I'll text you again later, ok?  >**

Tendou laughed good-naturedly.

"Well! It wasn't all bad. It looks like he still wants to talk to you."

Semi scratched the back of his neck, staring at his phone, wondering what just happened.

\---------

It was about six in the evening when Suga could pick up his phone again. Getting away from his friends had been...difficult, to say the least. After about 15 minutes of convincing them that Semi probably held no malicious intentions and that he was perfectly capable of handling things himself, he headed home, did his chores, and had finally cleaned himself up and settled down.

The thought of Semi lingered at the edges of his mind the whole time. He gave a pretty good performance during the match - as most of Shiratorizawa did. He left a fair enough impression on Suga; he respected him. However, he had no idea what to think of this...episode.

 _It really struck me that he was in a similar position as I am,_ Suga thought to himself as he dried his hair with a towel. _He’s a third year, and he isn’t their regular setter, but he puts his soul on the court when he gets the chance. I know how it feels; it isn’t an easy task_. He put his towel around his shoulders.

 _Actually, the more I think about it, I have to admit, he_ is _kind of…cute._ Suga wondered where these thoughts were coming from. He combed his fingers through his damp hair, and unplugged his phone from the charger.

3 unread messages.

**< No problem. Take your time.  >**

**< You can tell your team mates I'm sorry. It must have come off as suspicious, but I really didn’t mean to start a fight or anything.  >**

**< Tendou is sorry too, for all the trouble we caused!  >**

Suga couldn't help but laugh. He was probably harmless, and he looked friendly enough, so why were he and Suga being so awkward and apologetic with each other? He typed a reply;

**< Hi Semi, it's fine! Could you give me a call? >**

\--------------

Something tightened in his chest when he read the message. A stifling anxiety had stuck to him like the stubborn spindle of a spider web. He kept telling himself that it was fine, and that he wasn’t trying to impress Sugawara, and that he didn’t care about gaining his approval.

But he did.

And it felt so strange and practiced, the way he had to steady himself, close his eyes and _breathe_ before he could press the call button,

"Hi, Semi?" 

"Hey, Sugawara. Listen," His tongue seemed to act ahead of his thoughts, and a long stream of words spilled out of his mouth. "I'm super sorry about what happened. Giving you my number wasn’t a threat; my friend was just trying to...I don't know what he was trying to do but he didn't think things through, but it's not his fault. We’re sad that we lost but we’d never hold a grudge and try to get back or anything and-"

"Semi," Suga assured him. "It's okay. My team mates were thinking too much, and got a bit too riled up. I made it clear to them that it wasn't a threat, and managed to get away from them." He shook his head the memory. "Semi, I promise I'm not mad." He was relieved.

"Okay, and I promise to reign Tendou in before he can pull off another stunt like this.” Suga laughed, gentle and light.

"Why did he give me your number?" Suga’s voice was soothing, but the question made a coil tighten in his stomach.

"Don't get mad, okay? But he just thought we'd hit it off or something. Don’t get mad," He couldn’t help but repeat himself. “But he thought I was interested in you? I didn’t think he’d actually give you my number, though.” He could not gauge his reaction, but something about Suga made him feel like he could trust him with every secret that he would care to hear. He wanted to come clean. "He did it after I refused to take his advice and ask you out."

"So you were going to ask me out?"

"Oh my god no." He answered a bit too abruptly, a bit of embarrassment spilling into his voice. He could hear the other boy chuckle.

"It's fine, Semi. You seem really funny." He might've blushed a little upon hearing that. “Tendou was probably right about us getting along, actually. You seem pretty nice, and it'd be great to get to know you better. I think we just got off to a bad start, is all.”

“Yeah,” Semi moved from his desk to sit on his bed. “And I guess...meeting someone for the first time as an opponent in a high-stakes finals match isn’t exactly conducive for fostering friendships either.”

“Yeah, you're right. Maybe we need to start over."

Suga took a deep breath.

"Hi, I'm Sugawara Koushi - but you can call me Suga - 3rd year, Karasuno. It's nice to meet you."

Semi laughed at that. Suga joined him.

"Semi Eita." It felt so silly, but he couldn't keep the grin off his face. "3rd year, Shiratorizawa. Nice to meet you."

A voice in the background called out that dinner was ready. He heard Suga reply that he'd be there in a moment.

"I have to go, Semi. It's been really fun talking to you. We should do this again, you know? Just...talk."

"Yeah, I'd like that." He managed to say. "You can call me anytime, Suga."

"Great, I will!" He could sense that the other was beaming brightly as he said this, and wondered how anyone human could possibly possess the ability to communicate a smile via telephone. "Bye, Semi. I’ll talk to you again soon!"

"Bye!"

He sighed and flopped down onto his bed once the line went dead. Hit heart was still beating pretty fast, but the weight of the day's events – the match, the emotional outbursts with Tsutomu and Satori, this phone call – took its toll. Exhaustion sunk deep into his bones.

_God damn it, Satori. I don't know whether to hit you or kiss you for what you’ve started._

That was his last thought before he drifted off into a deep sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope this is readable even though I may have got their characterization a bit off. I probably need more practice to git gud at writing but I really wanted some self-indulgent Semi/Suga interaction okay.  
> Ty so much for reading. Please scold me for this mess of a fic in the comments.


End file.
